Steve Smith... A Football Life

[OneBadCat]

21 minutes ago, h0llywood said:

btw....Jordan Gross looks so gaunt. Someone feed the man.

Seriously he looks really old.

[NJPanthers12]

I mean it's not even close. Julius Peppers was a better player than Steve Smith but Panther fans won't tell you. Peppers is going to roller skate into Csnton while Smith may never get in.

[PhillyB]

love it. can't wait.

[Donald LaFell]

Peppers is a FA next year :D 

[kornicova]

I think it is a legitimate argument between the two.

Peppers was the reason I became a Panthers fan, he came to work did his job and was a pro his whole career in Carolina. Combine that with his out of this world athleticism and you have what should have been the first career Panther to get in the Hall of Fame.

Smitty was a completely different beast. You could argue that he put the Panthers on the map more than any other player to wear the uniform. No, they were not always for the right reasons e.g fighting and attitude. But as they say, any publicity is good publicity when you are competing with 32 other teams there is only a slither of time dedicated to you. Smitty was master of making the most out of the sound bites and coverage that he got. I think another thing that is lost is that he won the freaking Triple Crown, three players have done that since 1966!

 

[OneBadCat]

6 hours ago, NJPanthers12 said:

I mean it's not even close. Julius Peppers was a better player than Steve Smith but Panther fans won't tell you. Peppers is going to roller skate into Csnton while Smith may never get in.

Smith is going to be a lock by the time he hangs it up. 

Peppers wasn't a better player. He was potentially a better player than just about anyone. But Smith dominated much more than Peppers did.

[TN05]

6 hours ago, NJPanthers12 said:

I mean it's not even close. Julius Peppers was a better player than Steve Smith but Panther fans won't tell you. Peppers is going to roller skate into Csnton while Smith may never get in.

Peppers came into the league a star and was a star his whole career. After a 2 and a half sack season he was offered to be the best-paid defensive player in the league. He declined because either he didn't get enough money, or because he wanted to leave. Yes, he was one of many great defensive ends. But that was despite being a generational talent.

Steve Smith came into the league a return specialist. He wasn't a star, and wouldn't have been one because of his height. Yet somehow he became the best return man in the league his rookie year and the best receiver in the league in his third full year as a starter... and that's with less than the league best at quarterback, and despite having a legitimate #2 receiver less than half the time. Steve Smith had to earn everything he got... and after one subpar year (by his standards), he got canned, and went to another team and was even better.

Steve Smith is the better player, and the better Panther. 

[bleys]

GOAT...  I might even shed a tear

[Growl]

Flacco just screwed Steve out of a gimme TD

[TN05]

Five catches away from 1,000 on his career. This is a big deal. They are pumping it to him and he may well get it. Watch if you can!

[TN05]

Just got to 996 catches. 4 catches, 49 yards on the night so far.

[TN05]

Now at 5 catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.

[NJPanthers12]

2 hours ago, OneBadCat said:

Smith is going to be a lock by the time he hangs it up. 

Peppers wasn't a better player. He was potentially a better player than just about anyone. But Smith dominated much more than Peppers did.

I hope Smith makes the Hall, but to say Peppers had the potential to better than Smith and failed is utterly false.

The guy was a 3-Time All Pro at defensive end. 9 seasons with double digits sacks. He is 6th all time in sacks and can very easily finish top 4. He has 50 forced fumbles (which is insane), which is more than pass rush legends such as Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Kevin Greene, Chris Doleman, Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor, John Randle, Richard Dent, DeMarcus Ware, Jared Allen, Dwight Freeny, and Lawrence Taylor. I listed all those names just to put it into perspective. 

If you are into advanced statistics, he has an AV (Approximate Value) of 170. That is good enough to be ranked 20th all-time. The only players he is behind are:

Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Jerry Rice, Frank Tarkenton, Reggie White, Bruce Smith, Ray Lewis, Tom Brady, Dan Marino, Bruce Matthews, Drew Brees, John Elway, Derrick Brooks, Rod Woodson, Junior Seau, Alan Page, Lawrence Taylor, Anthony Munoz, and Steve Young. 

He is currently tied with Emmitt Smith, and by year end will surpass Smith, Munoz and Young. That means he would be a top 18 player in the history of the sport. Every single player on that list was or is a no doubt first ballot Hall of Famer. To this day I do not believe there has ever been an all time player who was more under appreciated and more disrespected than Julius Peppers by Panther fans. 

Steve Smith is a GREAT player. I am rooting heavily for Steve Smith to make the HOF. But at the end of the day Steve Smith is no Julius Peppers, and that is nothing to be ashamed of. Can you imagine if he actually "tried hard" and lived up to his potential? 

[Growl]

Just passed Reggie Wayne for 8th all time receiving yards. He may just pass Marvin Harrison for 7th next week.